17 people shared the big money purchase they deeply regret and it’s a salutary lesson for impulse buyers everywhere

You know how it goes. You spend ages scraping together your pennies, gradually saving up for that special purchase, only to immediately realise you wasted your time and money.

If you relate to this ordeal, don’t worry, you’re far from alone. Lots of people have made this blunder, and we know this because Pixel_Guru_x5 posed the following question to discerning consumers over at r/AskReddit:

‘What’s a major purchase you deeply regret, and what did you replace it with?’

Hold on to your receipts, these are the top replies…

1.
‘A boat. The old saying is true: the two happiest days of a boat owner’s life are the day they buy it and the day they sell it. I replaced it with a friend who owns a boat. All the fun, none of the maintenance.’
-Affectionate_Owl5775

2.
‘When I was a kid my dad brought home a crazy expensive home theatre setup(we had no business buying something like that) and spent hours hooking it up. He rented Jurassic Park and we watched it as a family. It was crazy good. After the movie ended my dad quietly packed it up and returned it.

‘Many years later my dad “won” a home theatre system at work and kept it. I’m quite sure my mom yelled at him to get rid of the first one and he wanted it for 10+ years before splurging again. For clarity he was definitely in a position to buy one at that point but he told me he was afraid of my mom telling him to get rid of it.’
-phatcrits

3.
‘I bought a Foodi Indoor Grill right after it came out because I was convinced it was going to change my kitchen flow. It was $250 (ish) after tax and I used a good chunk of my Christmas bonus to buy it.

‘Within 6 months, they dropped the price by like $100. Then 6 months later, they added a meat probe so it could sense when to turn off. I started seeing refurbished deals for under $100 6 months after that. Finally, I was walking around downtown and there was one just sitting on the curb with a sign that said “Free – Works Well”.

‘It weighs like 20lbs and takes up a ton of space in the cupboard. The only thing I use it for is to air fry salmon since it filters the smell. I could replace it with an air fryer, but getting rid of it to buy something else would make me even more bitter.’
-rutsh95

4.
‘I bought a house. The house next door had a leak, then it rotted. Both houses were condemned. I couldn’t sell mine. I lost everything and my credit was ruined so I couldn’t get another mortgage.’
-sambeau

5.
‘I got an iPad and an Apple Pencil because I wanted to become a digital artist lol. I suck at drawing and gave up. I didn’t really replace it, I just stopped using it.’
-IsopodKey2040

6.
‘We bought a new refrigerator over the summer. It was similar to one we had at a previous home, but with no handles…
I tried to love it for 89 days, then returned it and paid $400 more for the same model with handles from another retailer. It turns out, handles on a fridge are pretty important to me.

‘Thanks for your permissive appliance return policy, Costco. We’ll get you back on the next major purchase!’
-dewhite04

7.
‘Transitions lens glasses. Replaced them with regular lenses. I couldn’t stand how slowly the tint went away indoors.’
-Dontfollahbackgirl

8.
‘Season tickets for me and the family to somewhere we only went once. Tale as old as time.’
-DedRook

9.
‘Bought a brand new car in my early 20s “to be responsible.” Payments absolutely kneecapped me for years. I wasn’t building credit, I was building anxiety.’
-murrmelissa